Airborne electromagnetic warfare in NATO: A critical European capability gap
Think tank: RUSI
Author(s): Dr Justin Bronk
March 19, 2025
This report from UK think tank RUSI provides recommendations for enhancing European electromagnetic warfare capabilities in NATO’s air and space forces.
The research identifies the acute reliance of European NATO air forces on the US military for Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) capabilities to protect alliance aircraft and degrade enemy air defences.
The report makes recommendations to address this dependency and the risks it presents to European NATO allies.
The report says the critical role EW plays in securing NATO’s current airpower advantage over Russia is often under-appreciated, and that if NATO air and space forces were to lose this warfighting edge it would critically undermine the alliance’s air superiority as a deterrent against future possible aggression.
